Breath-actuated dry powder inhalers are used to deliver medicament to the respiratory tracts of patients. Typically such inhalers comprise a reservoir, or reservoirs, for storing dry powder medicament, means for aerosolising the dry powder medicament for inhalation, and means for delivering the aerosolised medicament to the patient, such as a mouthpiece. Typically, in use, the dry powder medicament is dispensed from a reservoir and then aerosolised as a result of a breath-induced low pressure at the mouthpiece. Once aerosolised, the medicament will generally leave the inhaler through the mouthpiece and be inhaled.
Known dry powder medicament is composed of very small particles and often provided in a composition including a carrier, such as lactose. Consequently, non-defined agglomerates or aggregates of the dry powder medicament may form at random prior to being delivered to the patient. There has therefore been a need for breath-actuated dry powder inhalers with means for breaking down the agglomerates of medicament, or medicament and carrier, prior to inhalation.
Deagglomerators for breath-actuated dry powder inhalers are disclosed in WO01/97889.
There is, however, a continued need to reduce the flow rate dependence of breath-actuated dry powder inhalers and, in particular, the flow rate dependence of the delivered dose of the medicament they deliver. In particular, there is a need to ensure that different patient groups receive substantially the same delivered dose from the same breath-actuated dry powder inhaler.
There is also a need for providing breath-actuated dry powder inhalers, and in particular those with deagglomerators, which provide better delivered dose characteristics. Particularly, there is a need for breath-actuated dry powder inhalers which provide improved delivered dose uniformity.
These and other problems are addressed by an airflow adaptor for a breath-actuated dry powder inhaler; a deagglomerator for a breath-actuated dry powder inhaler; a method for de-agglomerating dry powder in a breath-actuated dry powder inhaler; and a method for modifying airflow through the outlet port of a deagglomerator according to the independent claims. Further advantageous embodiments are disclosed in the dependent claims.